A train ride to Tuesday, a platform far away
Scarlet shades of evening move clouds of grey
Awaking arriving, the dirty station
Where he passes crowds of people who don't see him there
Here's a desert island room
For a man who's cast away
Stranded in this home from home
From his family far away
Home, well this is it
This is it, is this my heart?
I miss you with all my heart
This is not, is this not my home?
One shoe-lace, cardboard suitcase, one passport from the Queen
One room for a light bulb where no one's been
Sticks and stones, my old bones, not like 1954
Then they liked me fine but not anymore
This empty room where he's marooned with nothing left to say
But in the dark he thinks of home far away
Home, well this is it
This is it, is this my heart?
I miss you with all my heart
This is not, is this not my home?
I feel cold getting old, more than the climate's change
Stranded on this island, the rate of exchange
Here's a desert island room
For a man who's cast-away
Today he will not be at work
There is no work anyway
How is it when you feel it?
Do you wonder what gets you down?
You're looking in the windows
When you walk this town
Scarlet shades of evening move clouds of grey
Awaking arriving, the dirty station
Where he passes crowds of people who don't see him there
For a man who's cast away
Stranded in this home from home
From his family far away
This is it, is this my heart?
I miss you with all my heart
This is not, is this not my home?
One room for a light bulb where no one's been
Sticks and stones, my old bones, not like 1954
Then they liked me fine but not anymore
But in the dark he thinks of home far away
This is it, is this my heart?
I miss you with all my heart
This is not, is this not my home?
Stranded on this island, the rate of exchange
For a man who's cast-away
Today he will not be at work
There is no work anyway
Do you wonder what gets you down?
You're looking in the windows
When you walk this town
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
I always felt like it was about a guy who traveled a lot for work. He worked hard for himself or family--his prospects. But as he's away with work, or maybe at the point of retirement, he's looking back and wondering if it was all worth it. I think muckyneighbor's interpretation is a good one too!
@musicsuperhero1 an additional thought: it could be too that he lost his job after sacrificing a lot for work...and is therefore wondering if it's worth it.
@musicsuperhero1 an additional thought: it could be too that he lost his job after sacrificing a lot for work...and is therefore wondering if it's worth it.
This seems to be about an old, Carribbean man who was invited to the UK after the war to assist in the nation's recovery but is now largely discarded and ignored by society. He dreams of home and misses his family and the warm weather but, because of the unfavourable rate of exchange, cannot return.
I know what this song means to me personally. It is about running away and traveling to escape from a life that you don't want but in choosing to run away you are always alone.